October 4th, 2020

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#Faith#Feelings#Doubt#

Sunday, October 4th, 2020

Today, Sunday, I spoke about how doubt should not be panned and dismissed as invalid. While I don’t question God’s character or who Jesus is as the Son of God, fully God and fully man, I do have questions. They center mostly on why things are the way they are. I struggle with not knowing what God has in mind for my life. I don’t doubt his love for me, nor do I doubt He has an ultimate plan. I struggle with Him not sharing it with me. 🙂

Part of my sermon was spent in Psalm 13 as David wrestles with the whole faith vs doubt thing.  I owe a debt of thanks to Randall Arthur (Randy Dodd) who first wrote about this in his excellent novel, Wisdom Hunter. (And yes, I am encouraging you to buy it and read it).  Anyway, here is how he teaches Psalm 13.

  1. In verse 1 David says God has forgotten him. But in verse 5 he says God loves him unceasingly (steadfast).
  2. In verse 1 he says that God has hidden His face from him. But in verse 6 he writes that God has been good to him. (dealt bountifully with me)
  3. In verse 2 he wrestled with many thoughts (take counsel in my soul) and had sorrow in his heart every day. But in verse 6 David says, “I will sing to the Lord.”
  4. In verse 2 David writes, “My enemy is triumphing over me.” And yet at the end of verse 5 he says God is delivering him (my heart shall rejoice in my salvation).

Why? Is David schizophrenic? No, of course not.  The point to see it this: There is often a difference between how we feel and what is true. Feelings can be so deceptive and unreliable. How many times have you or someone you know done something because “it felt right” or “it felt good,” but all along it is against the Scripture?  The very fact that David kept on going is proof that his beliefs kept him from being overtaken by his feelings. Trouble comes when our feelings become stronger than our beliefs.

I hope you will keep that in mind as you move through each day.

Posted in Bible, Doctrine, Faith, God, Opinion, Pick me Up, Scripture look, Truth | 6 Responses »

#Doubts?#Faith

Sunday, October 4th, 2020

Have you ever had doubts? I don’t mean about faith things but doubts about other things? I ask that question because having doubts is almost like an everyday occurrence to some.  We find ourselves as adults almost acting like the three year old whose favorite question is “Why?”  Other than a little frustration we might feel when asked that over and over, we don’t chastise them for asking “Why” and call their faith into question.

Why then do we do that to adults who are either naturally inquisitive or have some serious questions about things? And when I say serious questions, in this case, I am talking about serious faith questions.  It comes down to this question:

IS IT WRONG TO HAVE DOUBTS?

I sure hope not because if it is I’m in deep horse do-do. Now…let me clarify.  My doubts are not the “what I believe about God, Jesus, or God’s faithfulness” variety.  My doubts come in other areas. I struggle, for example,  with understanding why things are the way they are. I struggle with not knowing what God has in mind in my life and if I will ever know. I don’t doubt His love for me, nor do I doubt He has an ultimate plan for my life. I struggle with Him not sharing it with me! 🙂

Methinks I am not alone.

I wish I could sit here and say that I have the kind of faith of George Mueller had, who ran an orphanage but determined to pray for everything and never ask for financial or any handout. Answers to prayers abound in his life story. Unlike most ministries today, he never asked for a dime.

There are two stories in the Bible I will be using Sunday in my sermon. The story found in Mark 9 of the father who has an encounter with Jesus, and one found in John 20: 24-29 where Thomas has an encounter with Jesus.  I will be finishing up with Psalm 13 and how it teaches us the importance of faith over feelings.  I’m planning on sharing them with you in a future post in the coming week.

My sermon, as you can surmise, is What about Doubt?  It is part of my series I’ve called Q & A. Tune if you are unable to be here for our morning worship. If you can’t do either, please say a prayer for us. Thanks.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Responses »